Alternative approach to "multiple applications"... is this an issue?

[eluser]xwero[/eluser]
If you want multiple sites running of the same code you just have to identify where the sites are different from each other. One thing i can think of is data. so for each site you have a separate database. Another thing is layout so you need to make your layout flexible for instance by using the same css and image file names but putting them in the public directories of the appropriate site.

All that can be done by making the base_url dynamic so you are on the right track.